Conventional pools, spas, ponds, and similar artificial water holders are conventionally formed with a drain opening on their bottoms at the lowest point on the bottom surface. Generally, these drain openings communicate through the cement or gunite or other material forming the pool or spa and connect the interior of the pool or spa with an underlying conduit into which water may be drained or is communicated to the filtration system to keep the water clean. Typically water communicated through the drain opening will be pumped through a filter and back into the pool or spa through return lines which communicate therein.
Pool and spa owners can spend thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars on the construction of their pool or spa. A large amount of that cost is designing and constructing an aesthetically pleasing bottom and side surface which will feature a specific color, design, pattern, or other design elements to make the pool or spa attractive.
Further, the constant circulation of water through the drain opening or openings in the bottom of the pool or spa tends to create a suctional vortex adjacent to these drains. In order to prevent injury or worse yet, drowning, the drains are conventionally overlaid with a cover that helps to eliminate this vortex action.
Unfortunately, most such covers tend to be utilitarian and not pleasing to the eye. They are constructed of plastic and when an owner has spent huge amounts of money on an eye-pleasing surface for the bottom and sides forming the pool or spa, the placement of one or a plurality of white or non-matching pool drain covers dot the bottom of the expensive pool surface. To address these problems, various anti-vortex drains and covers have been developed which feature water flow characteristics that also tend to reduce the suction around the drains while concurrently having an appearance that helps enhance the aesthetic appeal of the pool or spa.
A conventional drain cover widely employed for most swimming pools and many spas and required by building codes in many areas is a circular shaped anti-vortex drain cover. This type of cover is adapted to be positioned above a substantially circular drain opening leaving a gap on side perimeter edges for water flow from the pool and into the underlying drain. Such covers are generally formed of plastic material that is resistant to chlorine as well as sunlight and are generally available only in a limited number of colors such as black, white, and shades of gray or colors which will stand up to the chlorine and sunlight rich environment.
Because of manufacturing considerations and the environment in which they must operate, the materials forming standard drain covers frequently do not match the surface finish of the swimming pool or spa adjacent to the drain opening. As noted above such surfaces are installed in a wide variety of textures and colors which are custom made for the individual owner at great expense in time and labor.
Consequently, because of the great attention to color and texture of the surfacing forming the walls of the pool or spa, the conventionally available drain covers will appear conspicuously out of place when installed over the drain and surrounded by the custom surface finishing of swimming pools or spas. For the same reason, conventionally available drain covers will appear unaesthetic and out of place when employed to cover drain openings formed on the bottom of spas that are decorated with a colored fiberglass, plaster or exposed aggregate finish.
In an attempt to remedy the problem, cover manufacturers have attempted to manufacture covers that do not stick out like a sore thumb. Some covers are made from neutral colored plastic and others have been made of opaque plastic in attempts to blend in with the surroundings. Unfortunately neutral colors still appear out of place on a custom pool or spa surface and a transparent or opaque cover appears as a dark shadow or black dot at the bottom of the pool since the underlying drain is below and void of reflective color.
Other covers have been manufactured that allow for the surfacing used at the time of construction to be adhered to the top surface of the cover itself. However, these covers suffer from cracking of the adhered surface due to flexing of the plastic cover over time or from pool users such as children pushing off or otherwise striking the plastic cover. Further, since the matching material is placed on top of the plastic cover, it is continually exposed to UV and other sunlight which will damage most materials in the long run, especially printed materials which will fade.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,586 (Wright) teaches a drain cover that is engageable over a drain opening that provides an overriding top surface that allows the user to adhere surface material thereon to match the surrounding surface. However, Wright's device can allow cracking of the adhered material due to differing expansion characteristics. The adhered material is exposed directly to the pool or spa risking abrasion and chipping from users or objects. Also, flexing of this cover can cause cracking and chipping. Further the Wright device requires an entirely new cover to change the displayed design, and if broken, it is a problem to match years old surfacing with newly adhered surface to a replacement.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,758 (Jacuzzi) discloses an anti-vortex cover; however, Jacuzzi makes no allowance to match adjacent surfacing material.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,035 (Wright) is another example of a drain cover that provides for adhesion of surfacing to the exterior of the cover in a matching attempt. However, this Wright patent provides no protection to the surface itself, is prone to flexing, and requires replacement of the entire cover to change the displayed color or material over the drain.
As such, there is an ongoing need for a drain cover which is engageable over the drain opening in the bottom of a pool or spa and which is user configurable to match the surrounding surface. Such a device should allow for the use of portions of the surrounding surface itself or photographic representations thereof. Such a device should provide protection to the matching or displayed surface to be viewed from above the pool so that is does not crack or chip or fade and is protected from objects or people striking it. Still further, such a device should allow the user to display virtually any indicia or design or color that can be engaged behind the top surface cover and to easily change the displayed surface as needed or desired.
With respect to the above description, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components or steps set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The various apparatus and methods of the invention are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways which will be obvious to those skilled in the art once they review this disclosure. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
Therefore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other devices, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present disclosed device. It is important, therefore, that the objects and claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction and methodology insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further objectives of this invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.